


Clintasha Week 2016

by JenJo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Ballet, Budapest, Clintasha Week, Deaf Clint Barton, Domestic, F/M, Fluff, His Call, Lost in the Woods, Tokyo - Freeform, Wedding, headcannons, soulmate!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 04:30:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6596716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenJo/pseuds/JenJo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My contributions to Clintasha Week 2016.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings/His Call

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts:  
> 1\. Beginnings/His Call  
> 2\. Headcanons  
> 3\. Generate Mini Scenarios   
> 4\. Budapest/Tokyo  
> 5\. Domestic  
> 6\. AU/Crossover  
> 7\. Free for All   
> 8\. Quotes  
> 9\. Tropes  
> 10\. Firsts

It wasn’t the hair, nor the body which made his mind up. It was her eyes. Green was an unusual colour, but he’d seen unusual things. 

She was scared.

Her body screamed confidence. She was ready to do whatever it took to leave the room alive. Her eyes showed that she was as scared as he once was.

“You bring a bow and arrow? A relic of a time long gone,” her accent was perfectly American, but he had read the file. He shrugged, shifting the strap of his quiver, leaving the bow unfurled in his hand.

“Sometimes the classics are the best.”

She quirked the side of her lips, and her hands unclenched at her sides. “Sometimes. But I doubt you have ever met someone like me.”

“Truth?” When she tilted her head, he shook his head. “I think I have.”

“Where?”

“Me,” he pointed to himself. Her eyes widened for a second, before she calmed her face again. 

“You are not like me.”

“A weapon, doing what they’re told, never questioning the orders?” He raised his eyebrows; she crossed her arms over her chest. “Sounds like me.”

“Is that what you are? A weapon sent to kill me?”

“Yes.”

She blinked, and uncrossed her arms. “I admire your honesty. But why tell me? Surely you could’ve tried to kill me already.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a dozen kill shots lined up the past day,” he admitted. “But I couldn’t take any of them.”

“Why?”

“Your eyes. You’re scared. I was where you are, once. Didn’t think I had a way out. I’m here to offer you a way out.” He put the bow down at his feet, before kicking it across to her.

She looked down at it, before looking back up at him. “And what if I take the opportunity to kill you?”

He shrugged. “Then I would already be dead. You want out, I have a way.”

She took a couple of steps closer, the bow now behind her. “And who are you, that you can offer so much?”

He smiled. “What, your intelligence didn’t tell you about me? I’m Hawkeye.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I have never heard of you.”

His smile fell. “Really? Huh, I thought I was making a mark. Seems that I was mistaken.”

“Seems that way. So, how does a no name like yourself propose to offer me a new life, considering that your orders were to kill me.”

“My boss is flexible. He’ll see the value in having you alive and on our side.”

“Anyone who does not would be an idiot.”

“Exactly. Now, if they go with it, they’ll put you through a lot of trials, to make sure you’re not playing us.”

“I welcome it. Whatever you think you know of where I came from, I can assure you that the reality is much worse.”

He held out a hand to her. “Welcome to the rest of your life.”

She assessed the hand, before offering him the first genuine smile he had seen on her. “Thank you.”

~~~~~

“No.”

“Just like that?”

“No Barton. You are a rookie-”

“I’ve been here three months.”

“-This is not how we recruit people-”

“It’s how you recruited me.”

“-She has been trained to manipulate others-”

“She was scared.”

Coulson stopped his rant, looking at Barton. “What?”

“Her eyes Phil-”

“Sir-”

“Sir Phil. Her eyes were scared. She wasn’t choosing to do those things. Someone is controlling her. We break that control, she would be so valuable to everyone.”

“Is that all this is?” Coulson asked, raising an eyebrow.

Clint crossed his arms over his chest, taking a defensive posture. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“You wouldn’t be the first of our agents to succumb to a pretty girl,” Coulson intoned, the barest hint of a smile on his face.

Clint threw his hands in the air. “What on earth? No.” He shook his head. “No. No more mind games. You brought me in for a reason, remember? You told me there was a reason you fought for me. What was it again?”

“You could see what we couldn’t,” Coulson answered, realising what Clint was saying. “And we need new, fresh eyes.”

“Exactly,” Clint nodded, and relaxed his posture. “Trust me on this. This is the reason why I am here.”

“If this all goes south,” Coulson said as he reached for his phone. “It’s on you.”

Clint sat down in the chair opposite Coulson’s desk, nodding. “Yes Sir Phil. But it won’t. You’ll see; that woman will be the best thing that ever happens around here.”

“I hope you’re right,” Coulson said, before holding up a finger and turning to the side. “Yes, I need to speak to the Director.”

“You’ll see,” Clint said so himself, allowing himself a small smile. “Best thing ever.”


	2. Headcannons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few head cannons of mine, each expressed in a couple of sentences.

Natasha was the first person (in his new life) who Clint talked to about his brother, about his family. The shrinks had tried to get in his head from the moment he set foot on a base, but he never talked about his family.

Not until Natasha.

In exchange, Natasha told Clint about all the girls she had seen pass through the Room, all the girls whose futures would never be lived.

How she swore to live for those girls who couldn’t.

She saw it as an exchange: he told her a weakness, so she told him one back. It took a while, but she eventually discovered that Clint never expected anything more than a friend. from her.

 

Clint taught her how to use a bow and arrow.

(“When will I ever need to know how to use such an ancient weapon?” She had asked, while he stood behind her, correcting her posture.

She felt him shrug as he stepped to the side. “What happens if the target is a hundred feet away, you have run out of bullets, and your only long distance weapon is my bow?”

“Why would you not take the shot then?”

“Come on Natasha, stop thinking and just shoot. Focus on the here and now, not what might be.” He gave her a thumbs up, which she returned with a smile.

It was the first time that she had smiled without Clint smiling first.

It was also her first bullseye.)

 

Natasha taught Clint how to use poison without being detected.

(That lesson took much longer than the archery one, since testing poison on fellow agents was frowned upon. 

[Natasha also refused to teach Clint the way that she had been taught. No more deaths for lessons.]

Opportunities to practice were few and far between.

Clint got it after a month.)

 

Their first few missions together did not go smoothly. 

(Five missions, seven handlers.)

Natasha was too used to working alone, and eliminating targets.

Clint was also used to working alone, while being very against eliminating targets.

Protocol would have split them apart, partnered each with a more experienced agent. Natasha refused to go on a mission without Clint.

Clint would wave a hand at her and say, “Where she goes, I go.”

(Clint didn’t want to acknowledge the feeling that they would leave her alone somewhere, and tell him she had fallen while on assignment.)

 


	3. Generate Mini Scenarios

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint & Natasha are making their way to a secluded cabin.  
> Or, they're trying to, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Using a generator, got 5 prompts:  
> 1\. Natasha and Clint get caught up in a storm and must stay sheltered together until it passes.   
> 2\. Clint and Natasha decide to go camping.Natasha reads the map upside down and they both become terribly lost.   
> 3\. Clint is Natasha’s hired body guard.  
> 4\. Clint mourning over a dead Natasha.  
> 5\. Natasha is hired to spy on Clint. 
> 
> Four of these were (with some slight modifying) perfect. One was terrible, and got changed.

“I still can’t believe that you faked your own death in order to get us this vacation time.”

“That isn’t entirely accurate, Clint,” Natasha muttered, walking ahead of Clint in the mountainside forest.

Clint shrugged, reading the map on his phone as he adjusted the straps of his backpack. “Close enough. Did you see me mourn?”

Natasha offered him a raised eyebrow over her shoulder. “That, if anything, is what got you your vacation time. It was very overdramatic.”

“Very overdramatic?” Clint gasped, holding his free hand to his chest. “I will have you know, that was one hundred percent genuine.”

“Sure it was. You are aware that Fury asked me to keep an eye on you?”

“Were those his words? Because I thought that he had been banned from making eye puns.”

“Clint.”

“Alright, alright. I am aware. Just as you are aware that Hill asked me to be your bodyguard.”

Natasha stopped walking, and turned to face Clint. “Well, you certainly failed that job.”

Clint stopped an arm’s distance from her, and raised his arms, shrugging his shoulders. “Did I though?”

Natasha considered for a moment, before leaning forward to give Clint a quick kiss. “Guess I can forgive you for letting me be killed,” she whispered against his lips, before pulling back and resuming the walk. “Just this once though.”

“Just this once,” Clint echoed, smiling as he followed Natasha. The pair had been working nonstop for six months, juggling Avengers business with several ongoing SHIELD cases. The only way for Natasha to get out of her assignment was with her death; the pair had then been given a month to do as they pleased. No trackers, no calls. Just them and whatever they wished to do.

(But not without a final instruction from Fury and Hill to watch out for each other. That was the closest thing that they would get to a happy holidays.)

Surprisingly, camping had been Natasha’s idea. She (or rather, one of her other identities) had bought a cabin two years back. No one knew where it was, not even Natasha. All they had was the map that Clint was reading.

“Umm, Natasha dear?”

Natasha turned, raising an eyebrow. “You only ever call me dear when something’s wrong.”

Clint offered her the phone. “The map was calibrated wrong.”

“What?” She asked, before looking at the map. “Глаза, как ястреб? Больше похоже на глазах родинки,” she muttered under her breath, before looking at Clint and speaking so that he could hear her. “How did you not notice earlier?”

Clint offered her a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, I was distracted?”

“Distracted?” Natasha offered, before sighing. “Never mind. We’re a day and a half from where we need to be, and those clouds are about-” Drops of rain began to fall. “-to burst. We’re not getting to the cabin tonight.”

“You’re giving up this easily?” Clint asked, ignoring the glare that Natasha sent him as she began pulling things out of the backpack that he had been carrying.

A minute later, a SHIELD issue tent had been assembled.

“I don’t remember packing that.” Clint observed, sitting inside the tent.

“You also didn’t pack the jacket that you are now wearing,” Natasha wrapped her arms around Clint’s waist, under the jacket. “You can thank me later.”

Clint rested his head on top of Natasha’s. “I’m sure I’ll come up with something. How long do you think the storm will last?”

“Oh, about four hours.”

“That’s awfully exact.”

He felt her shrug. “What can I say? I know things.”

“So, are we going to be sleeping here until the storm passes?”

“We could sleep,” Natasha reached up to reposition Clint’s head, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Or we could celebrate our anniversary.”

Clint smiled, returning the kiss. “But that isn’t until tomorrow.”

She tilted her head in that way she does when something isn’t worth worrying about. (Clint always finds it adorable, and this time is no exception.)

“It’s tomorrow in most of the world,” she smiled into the kiss, before signing  “I love you.”

“Моя вечная любовь к моему паука,” he whispered back against her lips.   
~~~

Russian:  
“Глаза, как ястреб? Больше похоже на глазах родинки.” Eyes like a hawk? More like eyes of a mole.  
“Моя вечная любовь к моему паука.”  My eternal love to my spider.


	4. Budapest/Tokyo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery remains

“There are two things that I know for certain,” Clint muttered, just loud enough for Natasha to hear.

She tilted her head closer. “And what is that?”

Clint struggled with the ties binding his hands to Natasha’s. “One, this will not turn out like Budapest.”

“Of course not,” Natasha worked at  the ties around her ankles. “Budapest was actually a challenge.”

“Huh, suppose so,” Clint agreed, having freed his hands. He and Natasha made quick work of the ties around their ankles.

~~~~~

Their extraction point was Disneyland- no one looked twice at them.

Clint stood behind Natasha, with his arms around her. 

“You know, you never told me the second reason,” she noted as they watched the fireworks.

“Hmm? Oh, right. The second thing that I know for certain,” he pressed a kiss to her temple. “Is that I love you.”

She turned around in his arms, and brought him down for a more involved kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned on Tumblr, I prefer not knowing the exact circumstances of these missions.


	5. Domestic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Clint is home injured, Natasha is on assignment, Lucky is Clint’s dog, and 'Liho is not my cat Clint.'

**[Your cat eats more food than my dog]** Clint texted, before hobbling to the couch. Clint was stuck at home recovering, which meant looking after a dog and a cat.

At some point, he and Natasha had moved in together. If you asked him to tell you  _ when  _ this had happened, he would say two weeks ago, when he came home and found Natasha asleep on the couch, Liho curled up next to her head, and Lucky curled up on her feet.

(The photo is his phone lock screen, and saved in multiple locations.)

Ask Natasha when she moved it, and she would say that it had  happened three months and four days ago. She marks it from when she found herself awake one morning, wearing one of Clint’s hoodies and a blanket around her shoulders. A note telling her that he had gone into SHIELD, and a fresh pot of coffee was waiting for her, was found on her phone.

Clint collapsed onto the couch (he was not using the crutches that medical had suggested he use; he had had enough sprains to know how his body best recovered. 

(Collapsing onto couches was one of his top remedies.)

Lucky followed him, and lay on the couch, head in Clint’s lap.

**[I don’t own a cat]** came the reply. Clint shook his head at his phone.

“She doesn’t own a cat,” he shakes his head at Lucky, who remains asleep. .

**[Deny it all you want Tasha, Liho is yours.]**

There was no reply. Clint laughed, before looking for the cat. She was nowhere to be found.

**[And who names their cat after the embodiment of evil fate?]**

**[Thank you Clint.]** Came a moment later. 

Clint fell asleep on the couch with a smile on his face.

~~~

Natasha gets home after the debrief, taking off her shoes first before proceeding into the apartment. It wasn't much by any standards, but it was  _ theirs _ . 

(Well, the lease reads William and Henrietta Hood. After all, what good was a home if anyone could find them there?)

Walking into the kitchen/lounge area, she paused to take a photo.

Clint Barton, the infamous Hawkeye, was sprawled on the couch, mouth hanging open in sleep. Lucky lay across his unbandaged leg, equally as sleep. Liho was curled up on Clint’s stomach.

She smiled down at her phone, before sending a copy to a select group of friends. She then went into their bedroom, got changed into more comfortable clothes (Clint’s clothes), and went to make a pot of coffee.

As predicted, Clint woke soon after, hobbling over to wrap his arms around her.

“How was the mission?” He asked, resting his head on her shoulder.

She laughed, kissing the top of his head. “You know I can’t tell you.”

“I was hoping that you’d make an exception.”

“I made you coffee.”

Clint shrugged as best he could while wrapped around her. “Close enough. Movie night?”

“Movie night. I assume you already have a movie in mind?”

“I was thinking, curling up on the couch and falling asleep with our children.”

“Our children?” Natasha extricated herself in order to pour the coffee.

“Yeah, Lucky and Liho,” Clint pointed at them as he returned to the couch; the pair were curled up on the floor next to the couch. “Our children.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow at them before handing Clint his coffee and sitting next to him. He immediately shuffled over, curling into her side and pulling a blanket over them.

“She’s not my cat,” Natasha observed after a few minutes of silence.  In that time, Lucky had moved closer to Natasha on the ground, while Liho had made herself comfortable on Natasha’s lap.

Clint tilted his head to press a kiss to her cheek. “Sure she’s not.”


	6. AU/Crossover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate AU, where the first words your soulmate will say to you are tattooed on your body.

_ “Buy me a drink.” _

The Words that sat around his ribs had always confused Clint. He knew the rules of the Words, which included correct grammar and punctuation. ‘Buy me a drink’ is a question, so where was the question mark? When he was younger, he was told that his soulmate must be stupid, not being able to spell.

(He never put much stock in what his dad told him, luckily.)

The rules also said that the pattern of the words was significant. Clint’s words sat at four separate corners, and a young Clint had spent many an afternoon connecting the words in different ways.  _ It’ll all make sense when you meet them,  _ he would tell himself.

Clint couldn’t begin to guess the number of people that he had met in his life. A year and a half in the foster care system, seven years in the circus, the three with SHIELD, all of these meant that he had had many opportunities to meet his soulmate. But no one had said the four words to him. 

After his father, Clint told no one about the words, wanting to keep them to himself. It was the one thing that, no matter how far he travelled, he could keep with him.

Clint’s current assignment had him undercover in Paris. He had been sent in as back up on the Widow case. He had an out of date picture, and a name; Natalia Romanova. He was to make contact with the infamous Widow, and lure her out into the waiting hands of SHIELD’s finest.

He had spent the past month setting up his cover; an American tourist, on his last night in Paris. No family, no one to miss him, and plenty of money to spend in a bar. And the right amount of money to catch the interest of the Widow’s employers. 

Clint enjoyed the undercover work, and certainly didn’t mind exploring the city of Paris without having to pay for it. 

Clint had observed many women walk into and out of the particular bar that he had chosen for his final night, but only one fit the Widow’s shape. He watched her out of the corner of his eye; she sat at the opposite end of the bar, chatting to another man. She was also watching Clint from under her lashes.

He ordered another drink, and sat waiting. After a minute, the Widow stood up, and settled seamlessly into the vacant seat next to Clint. (Clint had kept the seat free all night, and he knew that she knew that.)   
The woman didn't offer a smile, instead looking into Clint’s eyes and stating, “Buy me a drink.”

Clint’s eyes widened momentarily, before he remembered who was talking to him. He signalled the bartender, turning away to collect his thoughts. 

_ No way, this is the Widow. Of course she wouldn’t ask you  to buy her a drink. Get back in the game, Barton. _

He turned back to her, and offered her a smile. “You are a tricky spider to find.”

He watched her head tilt slightly, before she grabbed his wrist and pulled him from his seat.

The next thing Clint knew, he was tied to a chair, shirt unbuttoned, and coming off of the effects of a sleeping agent.

~~~~~

_ “You are a tricky spider to find.” _

Her codename had been given to her before she could remember, taking inspiration from the words that followed the outline of her ribcage like an arrow. The Black Widow spider made the most sense to her handlers.

Natalia grew up not knowing her true name, only that which had been given to her. Black Widow was whispered in fear from her earliest memories. She showed great skill, and promise.

Natalia liked to make them proud. When they were proud, she didn’t get hurt as much.

Natalia did not grow up hearing the stories of what the words meant. She was told that one day, someone would say them to her. And whoever this was, they would have to die. 

Just like a Black Widow spider.

On her missions, she learnt bits and pieces of what the words truly meant. “ _ The shape is a clue to your soulmate.” The target sat in her chair, smiling as if they were old friends. _

_ She lowered her gun, and tilted her head to the side. “What is a soulmate?” _

_ The target gave a small laugh. “Child, a soulmate is the one with whom your life will be complete. A soulmate is a gift, to be cherished. Looked after. Protected.” _

_ “Protected?” _

_ The target nodded. “Yes child, protected. You find your soulmate, and you protect each other. Understand?” _

_ “I understand.” _

The woman welcomed her death, but only after she had imparted the wisdom.

(Natalia earnt later that the woman had been married to an important diplomat, her soulmate. She still did not know why the woman had told her the information about a soulmate, but for eight years she looked after the information like a secret.)

“You are a tricky spider to find,” the blond man had said to her. After she had spoken to him, he had reacted as though he knew the words.  _ And he had spoken mine. _

There was only one thing for her to do. The man was being watched, so she took his wrist and escaped to a secret house. She administered a sleeping agent, and tied him to a chair. Assuming that his words would be in the same place, she unbuttoned the man’s shirt.

“Buy me a drink,” she muttered running her hand over the four words. This man was her soulmate.

She sat on the ground in front of him, waiting for the sleeping agent to wear off.

“WHere am I?” The man regained consciousness quickly, looking around the room before looking at her.

She stood up, and lowered her dress to show him her words.

His eyes widened, “you are a tricky spider to find,” he whispered, reading the words. She put her dress back on, and untied the man.

“I am trusting you,” she told him. He nodded.

“Since you haven’t killed me yet, I trust you. My name’s Clint.”

“They told me my name is Natalia,” she furrowed her eyebrows slightly. “I do not think it is my true name.”

“The Black Widow?” Clint asked, and she nodded.

“Yes. They named me after seeing the words,” she offered him a slight smile. “I can’t go back. They want you dead. Or, the fake you. If I fail…”

Clint put his hands on her shoulders, and gave her a reassuring smile. “Hey, hey, we can help. The people I work for, they’ll get you out of here.”

“How?” she shook her head. “Natalia Romanova cannot go anywhere.”

“The people I work for,” Clint dropped his hands to take hers. “They can give you a fresh start.”

“Protected,” she whispered. He tilted his head to the side, and it was then that she noticed that he wore a device over this ear. It wasn’t a radio device, nothing more than a hearing aid.

“What?”

“I was told that soulmates protected each other. Is this true?”

The man nodded. “Yes. Trust me?”

She twisted her hands so that she was the one holding his. She gave them a squeeze. “Yes.”

“Okay,” Clint smiled at her. “Can you get us outside? I have no idea where we are.”

“Of course.”

~~~~~

“This will make a great story one day,” Clint observed. The pair were sitting in a van, being driven to a safe house.

“What?”

“One day,” she noticed that Clint was very expressive with his hands when he wasn’t playing a role. “Someone will ask us, ‘how did you meet your soulmate?’ And we’ll say, ‘I was sent to kill her, and made a different call.’”

She frowned at him. “But I was the one sent to kill you.”

Clint waved her off, smiling wider. “Details, details.”


	7. Free for All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A ballet company is suspected to be a front for illegal activities. SHIELD sends Natasha to infiltrate, as a French dancer.  
> Several weeks pass, and she is no closer to knowing who is behind the suspicions. Clint is sent in, also as a dancer.  
> The dancers are clean, but the managers are not.  
> The show must go on, and Clint and Natasha dance the lead roles in the farewell performance, with the Avengers in the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea's been rolling around my head for a while, but still haven't written it out.  
> This is the ending.  
> (Features breakfast talking, sneaky spies, and possible Stony. (If you choose to see it.))

“ _ Robert Newman and Jean Moreau dance together as though they were born to. As though they draw breath from each other. It is with a heavy heart that I must report than Mr Newman has retired from dancing, while Ms Moreau has elected to attend college, and will be dancing less for the foreseeable future. This newspaper wishes the pair the best of luck in their futures, and hopes for the day when we will see them dance together again _ ,” Tony read from the tablet, before looking up at the table. “Seems the two of you made quite the impression last night.”

Clint, sitting opposite Tony and inhaling his mug of coffee, shrugged. “You were there. Do you agree?”

“It was… how did that other paper describe it?”

“Magical,” Steve supplied, sitting on Tony’s left and onto his second course of breakfast. 

Tony nodded. “Yes, magical, that’s the one.”

Natasha shrugged from her position next to Clint, eating a bowl of pasta. “I’ve been called worse.”

“It’s pretty accurate,” Steve added. “If I didn’t know the two of you, I would have said that you’ve been dancing your entire lives. You were brilliant last night.”

Clint and Natasha shared a look, before they spoke.

“What makes you think I haven’t been dancing my whole life?”

“Who says I haven’t?”

“Natasha, we believe you. You,” Tony pointed at Clint with his spoon. “Not so much. You’re hardly graceful around here.”

“So explain last night.”

“Fluke. Shield training. Magic. We live in strange times.”

Clint sighed, refilling his mug with coffee. (Early on, Tony had installed a kettle on the dining table, which self-filled. One of his more admired inventions, especially during early morning meetings.)

“We do. But sometimes, the simplest explanation is the right one.”

“So what is the simplest explanation?”

“He grew up in a circus,” Steve answered.

“Grew up in a…” Tony turned to give Steve an incredulous look. “How does growing up in a circus explain being able to pass himself off as a professional dancer? And how is that the simplest answer?”

Steve turned to also face Tony, breakfast left behind. He used his hands as spoke, something he had picked up on to focus Tony’s attention on him. (Tony had explained it as ‘Varied input, Cap. The more varied the input, the more I pay attention.’ Steve used it because it worked.)   
“Circus performers are often versatile, being called on to perform anywhere they are needed. And I thought you discredited the existence of magic?”

“Doesn’t mean that it isn’t a possibility. Hey, Barton,” Tony turned away from Steve, only to discover that Clint and Natasha had both left the table. He turned back to Steve, both hands raised in confusion.

“How?”

“They are professional spies.” Steve shrugged, returning to his breakfast with an amused smile.

Tony blinked at him, before pointing a finger at Steve, eyes narrowed. “You distracted me.”

“Did I?”

Tony shook his head, returning to his tablet. 

Five minutes later, he turned back to Steve. “Why were they even dancing in the first place?”

Steve, on his third course, offered Tony a blank face. “It’s classified.”

“Everything’s classified,” Tony muttered.

“Only the important stuff, dear.”

~~~~~

“You know, we’re lucky that Steve likes you so much,” Clint observed as he gave Natasha’s calf a massage. They had snuck back into their rooms of the tower, and Natasha was receiving a much-needed massage. Natasha was sitting on their lounge, while Clint kneeled on the floor. They were still in their pyjamas; tracksuit bottoms for Clint, tank top and tracksuit bottoms for Natasha. 

(Meal times at the tower didn’t have a dress code beyond ‘wear some form of clothing’. When you had been through what the team had, things like modesty tended to disappear.)

Natasha hummed in thought. “Or is it because he likes  _ you _ ?”

Clint considered this as he switched to Natasha’s other calf. “Or maybe he just likes antagonising Stark.”

“Or he just likes Stark,” Natasha offered.

“Also a strong possibility,” Clint finished with a flourish of his hands, before looking up at Natasha. “Anywhere else?”

Natasha tilted her head in thought, pursing her lips. “You know, my lips could do with a massage.”

“Your lips,” Clint repeated, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I did keep them very still during the performance. It was quite a strain, really.”

Clint huffed out a laugh, before standing up and straddling Natasha’s thighs. He smiled down at her as he put a hand on her face, and she leaned up into the kiss.

“You know, if you wanted a kiss, all you have to do is ask,” he said when they pulled apart for breath.

“I know,” Natasha answered, before flipping the pair so that Clint was on his back on the couch. She leant down to whisper in his ear, “But where is the fun in that?”

“Where indeed,” he replied, running his hands down her back as she kissed down his throat. “Never change, my spider.”

She lifted her head to press a kiss to Clint’s nose, before returning to kissing her path down his torso.

“Don’t plan to.”

 

~~~  
  
(‘Never change’ came about as an alternative to ‘I love you’ early on in their relationship. Both had had too many people claim to love them for the word to mean anything. ‘Love is for children’- for before it is used to control you, to manipulate you. ‘Never change’ acknowledges the fact that they both frequently change their exteriors, but never changing what they mean to each other. That bond goes beyond what any words can say, least of all as corrupted a word as love is. 

‘Don’t plan to’ is their response to each other. Plans change all the time; new info, bad info, deaths, complications. They know that. But when said like this? They know that this plan is not like a Shield plan, nor an Avengers plan. It’s  _ their  _ plan, the Spider and the Hawk, always changing, but never to each other. Never who they are when they are together and alone.)

  
  



	8. Quotes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their past is their past.  
> Their future is together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quotes used for inspiration:  
> Let me be your shelter, let me be your light  
> You’re safe, no one will find you  
> Your fears are far behind you   
> &  
> My place is here, I fight with you.

Natasha would never admit to being scared, of fearing anything. Not in front of anyone, at least. Not even to the reflection in the mirror. She had worked too hard to leave those fears behind.

Clint knew all of her fears, pieced together over all the years he had known her. That trust had been hard fought, on both sides. And to be fair, she knew all of his.

Lying awake at night, remembering the faces of ghosts long dead. 

Being woken by the screams of the dead.

Of those who had used them, and left them behind.

Of lost opportunities. Of lost innocence.

Those nights, they would lie entwined, breathing matched. Sleep would elude them, but comfort would be found.

Comfort in the proof that they had a future, together. A light in the darkness.

Proof that the fears are far behind them both.

Words whispered to each other, reassurances that they were both there.

Neither of them were so naive to believe that their pasts would never catch up to them. But those were thoughts for the daytime.

Those nights laying awake were to be spent reminding each other that they were alive. Reminding each other of where they have been.

“Budapest.”

“Tokyo.” They would name cities they had been to together, using the last letter of each to start the next. (They had had a lot of missions together, which made the game easier.)

“Oslo.”

“Austria.”

“Clint, Austria begins with an A.”

“It sounds like an O?”

Natasha huffed out a laugh, head resting on Clint’s chest. “It sounds like an O? Really?”

“What would you have said?” Clint ran his hand up and down natasha’s back, in time with their breathing.

“Oakland. Odawara. Olomouc. Orizaba. Ozamiz.”

“Okay, okay,” Clint laughed, “I get it. I messed up.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Oh, remember Ourense?” Clint sighed at the memory. “That was a good mission.”

“You mean when you almost got hypothermia after staying out all night? And had to spend three days in quarantine when we got back?” Natasha raised herself onto her elbows to look down at Clint, an eyebrow raised. “That mission?”

Clint offered her a smile. “I might have meant Oviedo?”

Natasha shook her head, leaning down to kiss Clint. “You probably meant Oviedo.”

“Oh good, I’m remembering it right.”

“It’s amazing, considering that concussion you got.”

Clint dropped his head back on the pillow, groaning as Natasha smiled. She returned to her spot on Clint’s chest.

“That concussion was bad,” Clint remembered. “I was out for days.”

“Yes, you were,” Natasha muttered sleepily, entwining her fingers with Clint’s. She closed her eyes as Clint continued talking.

“And they wouldn’t let me sleep. They kept me awake for so long. And no coffee. At least they figured out never to try and keep me away from coffee  _ and  _ sleep at the same time. Oh, those were fun times.” Clint looked down at Natasha, who had fallen asleep. He smiled, pressing a kiss to her hair. 

He fell asleep with a smile on his face, fingers still entwined in Natasha’s.

Thinking about the darkness never worked for them; talking about the light was their way of reminding each other that their lives were worth something. 

That side by side, they could take on the world. And win.


	9. Tropes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tropes taken from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LoveTropes

**Love At First Punch.**

 

They didn’t fall in love at first sight. No. 

For Natasha, the love came the first time Clint gave her a black eye. 

She had been sloppy, not taking the fight seriously. And Clint hadn’t been holding back.

He had immediately got her an ice pack, and taken her off active rotation to recover. (Not necessary, but nice.)

She knew then, that this man would do whatever it took to look after her.

 

******Anger Born Of Worry**

 

“You could have died!” Clint’s voice was the first thing Natasha heard after regaining consciousness.

“Could have?” She muttered, voice scratchy with disuse. “You’re underestimating me.”

“Under… Underestimating  _ you _ ?” Clint stood up, and placed his hands next to her head, looking down at her. “Natasha, you almost died. This isn’t me being dramatic; the doctors were ready to pull your life support. I almost...”

The tears that threatened to fall from his eyes stopped Natasha’s smile.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry,” Clint shook his head. “If you weren’t hooked up to every monitor in existence, I would be hugging you right now.”

“It’s over now Clint, I’m alright.”

Clint dropped back down in the chair, taking her hand in his and pressing a kiss to it. “I’m the one who is supposed to end up in the hospital after a mission, not you.”

“It’s okay Clint.”

“I’m not angry at you.”

“I know you’re not.”

 

**Battle Couple**

**Flirting Under Fire**

 

“Honey?”

Clint fires off an arrow before replying. “Yes dear?”

“Would you be able-to- pick up some groceries- on your way home?” Natasha’s question was interrupted with the sounds of a fist fight.

Clint fired off three arrows to dispatch of Natasha’s foes. “Anything else?”

“Lucky needs more food.”

_ “I thought that we had a discussion about this.”  _ Cap’s voice came over the comms, sounding slightly out of breath.

Clint laughed, sending a grappling hook out in order to move to another vantage point. “Sorry Cap. Must’ve been asleep during that discussion.”

“Won’t happen again,” Natasha promised. 

The trio worked in silence, dispatching their foes. It wasn’t long before there were no more.

“Hawkeye, a hand?” Natasha raised a hand into the air; a moment later, Clint pulled her up, using an arrow to end up on a rooftop.

“Thank you,” she smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Clint smiled, pulling her closer by her waist. “Any time.”

_ “We also had a discussion about  _ this _ ,”  _ Steve’s voice echoed in their ears.

“Oh, I remember this one,” Clint laughed. “Turn off your comms  _ before  _ engaging in the kissing, right?”

_ “Those weren’t my words.” _

“But close enough,” Natasha finished, turning off both comms devices.

 

 

**Happily Married**

**Her Boyfriend's Jacket**

 

“You wore the arrow necklace.”

“Yes.”

“In front of millions of people.”

“Yes.”

“An arrow necklace.”

“Do you have a point Clint?”

Clint smiled at Natasha, shaking his head slightly. “Nope.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Nope?”

“Just can’t believe that I’m married to such a wonderful person.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, and gave Clint a kiss. “Sap.”

Clint shrugged in response. “I can live with that.”

“I thought it would be more subtle than the ring.”

“More subtle? Than the ring?”

Natasha simply smiled at her husband.

 

**It's Not You It's My Enemies**

**Intertwined Fingers**

 

Clint took Natasha’s hands and intertwined their fingers. “Nat, there’s trouble coming.”

“When isn’t there?” She offered a smile, but Clint remained focused on their hands.

“This is… They’ve never had leverage over me. Not like this.”

Natasha leant forward to press a kiss to Clint’s cheek. “We’ll beat them. Just like my past, the Avengers foes, we’ll face whatever comes. And beat it. Together.”

“Together.”

 

 

**Lap Pillow.**

**Love Is A Weakness.**

 

Natasha lay watching the muted television, head in Clint’s lap. Normally, her head would be on his shoulder, but it was still recovering from surgery.

He was absent-mindedly running a hand through her hair, eyes barely open and certainly not reading the captions on the television.

They had been on separate missions and both got out of debrief at the same time earlier today. Clint’s arm was in a sling, and Natasha had a bandaged wrist.

Lucky and Liho were still at Kate’s; Natasha and Clint taking the night to themselves.

As she lay there, watching an old black and white film, words that Natasha had once spoken came back to her.

_ Love is for children. _

It was a necessary statement at the time, and achieved her aims. But sitting here, so close to to the man who meant more to her than anything, she admitted to herself that maybe, love wasn’t such a weakness.

 

**My Own Private I Do.**   


 

The Avengers knew that Clint and Natasha were close, but none thought that they could be married.

“So, when are you two going to tie the knot?” Tony asked one afternoon during a post battle lunch, pointing a breadstick at the pair. One of Clint’s legs was laying across Natasha’s lap, while she massaged it.

He received two equally blank stares in reply. “What?”

“Tie the knot,” Tony elaborated. “Get hitched. Get married?”

The pair shared a look, communicating in that way no one else had deciphered yet. Natasha then turned to Tony, and shrugged. “We’ve been married for five years.”

Tony blinked in response. “What?”

“Five years, two months, seven days,” Clint repeated. 

“What?”

“What I am sure Tony means,” Steve injected. “Is, why keep it a secret?”

Natasha raised an eyebrow, offering Steve a sardonic look. “We’re spies.”

“It’s what we do,” Clint offered Steve a smile. “Do you really think it’s the kind of information we want out in the open?”

“I suppose not.”

“To be fair, we’re not exactly subtle.”

“I just assumed that you were a couple,” Tony said.

Clint nodded. “And we are. A married couple.”

“Do you have rings?” Steve asked. Natasha pointed to her arrow necklace, while Clint pulled out his dog tags, which had an hourglass on the end of them.

“Those aren’t rings,” Tony felt obliged to point out.

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Because we’re going to wear  _ rings  _ out in the field.”

“They’re secure in a bank vault, under an alias,” Clint added. “They’re safe.”

“There goes that idea,” Tony muttered. His muttering may have gotten past Clint, but not past Natasha.

“What idea?” 

He offered a sheepish smile, speaking up. “I was going to offer to pay for your wedding.”

Clint blinked owlishly at him. “What?”

“What I am sure Clint means,” Natasha gave him a smile, before turning back to Tony, “Is why would you offer us a wedding?”

Tony ran a hand through his hair, gathering his thoughts. “Well, I might have made the assumption that the reason you two weren’t married was that you didn’t have the money to do so.”

Natasha nodded. “Seems fair.” She then turned to Clint, who offered her a shrug.

“I’m always happy to get married to you.”

“Good,” she turned to Tony. “We accept.”

“You… accept?”

“Yes. You can pay for our wedding.”

“But you’re already married?”

“Let’s just say,” Clint explained, “the last time, we didn’t exactly have the family we have today. It feels…”

“Right.”

“Right, exactly. It feels right.”

“Uh, okay. I guess I’ll start the arranging?”

“After the meal,” Natasha said, resuming the massage that she was giving Clint, while Clint returned to his meal.

“Post battle meals are important,” Clint said with a mouthful of food.

“You know, despite what i just said,” Tony leant closer to Steve so that he wouldn’t be overheard. “Those two are a strange couple.”

“But they are a good couple,” Steve observed.

“Agreed,” Tony said, as Clint began to offer Natasha food as she continued the massage of his leg.

 

**Necktie Leash**

 

The Avengers were in attendance at a charity gala, enjoying a rare night off. 

Steve stood watching it all. (Having a ‘no dancing at all’ policy worked better for him than making exceptions.)

A red dress moving through the crowd caught his eye, and he was not surprised to see that it belonged to Natasha. Nor was he surprised by the fact that she was leading Clint along, hand on his tie. Natasha saw him, and gave a raise of her eyebrow. Steve tilted his head in response, and she continued on her way.

Steve wasn’t naive; he knew what was about to happen, and made a mental note to cover for the pair until they returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was way too much fun to write.


	10. Firsts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first kiss as a (legally in America) married couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follows on from the previous chapter.

The wedding had come together quickly. This came down to the fact that not many people had been invited. Their lives didn’t lead to many opportunities for friends, and their closest were on the team. 

(There were some invitations sent to a select few at SHIELD; they had been politely declined, with the promise of a day free from any call-ins as a gift.)

As it turned out, Pepper was a registered celebrant (her cousin had been married recently, and had asked Pepper to officiate.) The registration was still valid, so she had agreed.

(After some research, it was discovered that Natasha and Clint were not legally married in America.)

Their rings had been retrieved from their secure location (it was time to move them, anyway). 

A garden venue had been booked; attendees were just arriving when a call to assemble came through. 

 

After spending three hours fighting slime monsters, the team were, understandably, exhausted.

They sat in the quinjet, on their way to the tower, when Tony apologised to the pair.

“For what?” Natasha had asked. “It’s not your fault monsters attacked.”

“Should’ve known,” Tony replied. “The planning went off without a hitch. Should’ve known the ceremony itself wouldn’t.”

“Who said it won’t?” Clint spoke up from the pilot’s controls. When he was met with silence, he engaged the autopilot and stood to face the team. “Ceremony hasn’t happened yet.”

“Exactly my point.”

Clint shrugged. “We can have it at the tower.”

“What?”

“You need to expand your vocabulary, Stark. There’s nothing stopping us from having the ceremony at the tower.”

“Everyone who’s invited is on their way there anyway,” Natasha said, giving Clint a smile. “And I’m sure Kate is still helping Pepper out.”

“Exactly,” Clint nodded again. “Nothing stopping us.”

 

Which was how, thirty minutes later, the Avengers sat on the landing pad of the tower (The slime was still evident, and everyone was still in their uniforms. Most of the excess slime had been removed, but the smell remained.)

Clint and Natasha stood in front of their family, holding hands; Kate stood behind Clint, while Tony stood behind Natasha.

It was a simple ceremony, minimal words, including an exchange of vows. (They had not done that the first time).

“The first time I saw you, I saw someone who was lost, confused. Afraid. I also saw what no one else could. I saw the opportunity for a new start. And not only for you. Looking back over the years, I would not be the man I am today if it had not been for you by my side through it all. I wouldn’t be standing here, as one of earth’s mightiest heroes, in front of those same heroes. I’d be behind a desk somewhere, or on the run. But together, we’ve achieved more than we could ever have done apart. And I will continue to be by your side, that will never change.”

Tony began clapping, but stopped when all eyes turned to him. “What? That was worthy of a clap.”

“May I?” Natasha asked him; Tony gave a hand flourish, and Natasha laughed as she turned back to face Clint.

“You gave me a chance at a new life, a chance to build my own life. With no one forcing me to be who they wanted. I was free, for the first time in my life. And I chose to be with you. Side by side, always and forever. Into the sunset, and every other cliche you made sure that I learnt about. Without you, I wouldn’t be who I am. And I will take every chance I can, to spend my time with you.” Natasha finished by letting go of Clint’s hands, and signing “I love you.’

When she was done, she turned to raise an eyebrow at Tony. “What, no applause for me?”

Tony shrugged. “Well, I expected your speech to be perfect.”

“Quite right,” Clint said, causing Natasha to turn back to face him. “Perfect.”

A small cough drew their attention to Pepper, who was smiling at them both. “If I may?” At the twin nods, pepper spread her arms wide. “Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

To the sound of applause, cheers, and more than one wolf whistle, Natasha pulled Clint in for their first kiss as a (legally in America) married couple.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have arrived at the end.
> 
> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.


End file.
